What is it: #FridayFollow or #FollowFriday?
No matter if you call it Friday Follow or Follow Friday, at the end of each work week you'll find thousands (if not millions) of people using hashtags to give digital shout outs to their friends and fans on Twitter.
The Friday Follow tradition is great for finding new and interesting tweeters. And since the #FridayFollow hashtags are posted by other tweeps who know them, they're usually great introductions. If you like one person on Twitter, you'll often like someone they follow. But you don't have to limit yourself to only checking out the #FridayFollow recommendations from people you follow, you can do a Twitter search for the common #FridayFollow hashtags to see everyone's #FF.
A #FridayFollow can come in many different forms, but they generally look like this (an example of recommending yours truly):
If you crack open the Twitter search site and do a search, or if you click on one of the links I've provided below, you'll see a lot of love being shared with other folks on Twitter. (Especially on a Friday) Oh, and keep in mind that as with most Twitter-related searches, none of the search terms below are case sensitive.
Some people do one #FF per tweet and say something specific about the person they're recommending, some post one tweet with a #FF and link to a bunch of people, and some people (like me) mix it up. Once you get through your first few Friday's on Twitter you'll get the hang of it. 
You can follow me on Twitter at @halfbrown and check out all of my #FridayFollow tweeps.
10 Twitter Tools to Take Your Tweets to the Top.
Are you frustrated that your Twitter profile is getting overrun with spam accounts instead of real (and interesting) followers? Do you want to make connections with actual people instead of getting the same teeth-whitening spam tweets in your Twitter stream? If so, you're going to need the right combination of Twitter tools to get rid of spammers and find followers with similar interests.
Even though Twitter has between 75-85 million accounts, only about 20% of them are considered active Twitter users, which means there are 12-15 million active people using Twitter. Further more, close to 80% of all Twitter accounts have less than 10 tweets and less than 10 followers under their belts. No wonder it's so difficult to find an actual person on Twitter!
The good news is that those of us who are active on Twitter (you can follow me at @halfbrown) are not only friendly and helpful (for the most part), but we want to meet more people like you! In this blog post I'm going to show you some of the Twitter tools I've used to find not only real people who tweet, but who also share the same interests as me. I'm also going to show you how to use these Twitter tools.
Each of the sites below have helped me get over 800 followers, the majority of which are real people who actually tweet, share links, and engage in conversations with each other. Any fool can get 20,000 followers that are mostly spam or inactive accounts, but growing a list of real followers is another story. The Twitter tools I point out below will help you get there.
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monitter.com:
One of the hardest part about starting out on Twitter is finding people you share common interests with. One of the best Twitter tools I've found to search for kindred spirits is monitter.com. Monitter allows you to search for up to 3 keywords (or phrases) at a time and with geo-location matching, to boot. A lot of the great Seattle-area people I've followed or met online came from searching on monitter.com. FYI: I get the best results by using a variety of keywords and hashtags and sticking within 30 miles of the closest major city near me, Seattle.
To do your own search, go to monitter.com, go to the upper-left area of the site and choose a distance. Then go to the 3 columns in the center of the page, and in the dark gray box replace the default search term with your own and click the "Enter" key on your keyboard. Repeat for the last 2 columns if you want to search more. Word of caution: the search is essentially in real-time, so if you use a really common search term, expect that you'll see a lot of scrolling!
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tweetcloud.com:
A big part of deciding whether or not I want to follow a person comes from what they tweet about. Their bio can say anything they want it to, but the real litmus test for what a person is all about comes from their tweet cloud. A tweet cloud is a representation of words or phrases that they use most often when tweeting, and tweetcloud.com is one of the easiest and simplest Twitter tools that shows this info to you. If they have a lot of user names in their tweet cloud then I know they're an active conversationalist. If all their tweet cloud contains are spammy references or non-interesting keywords then I know I'm not going to want to follow them.
To see someone's tweet cloud, just go to tweetcloud.com, click on the "user" tab near the top left-hand section of the page, enter their Twitter user name, and click the "search" button.
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friendorfollow.com:
Friendorfollow.com is one of the better Twitter tools you can use to sort through your list of followers and separate the wheat from the chaff. I've found that if I follow someone and engage in conversations with them online, the majority of the time they will follow you back, especially if they actively participate in the conversations. Some people, however, just aren't very social (strange, considering the very nature of social networking), and if I follow them and we never connect then I don't usually keep following them. I figure if I make an effort to try to get to know them and they aren't interested then why should I bother?
To start things off go to friendorfollow.com, enter your user name, and press the "submit" button. Once the page comes up with your information you'll have 3 tabs to choose from: "following" (people you follow but don't follow you back), "fans" (people who follow you but you don't follow back), and "friends" (people who follow you and you follow them back). If you're looking for someone specific keep in mind that the people listed on the page are in alpha-numeric order.
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mrtweet.com:
For a simple way of finding people to follow you can use mrtweet.com to do some of the leg work for you. Like other Twitter tools it recommends users to you, but it also lists tweeps that it thinks are your influential followers and suggests some of their users to you as well. Added bonus: You can even have friends and followers recommend your profile to others.
Open up mrtweet.com in your browser and click on the "Sign in with Twitter" button. Like a lot of other Twitter tools, MrTweet uses the OAuth method of connecting to you account, so if you're already logged in you won't have to enter your user name or password, which is always a plus from a security standpoint. You will have to authorize MrTweet to have access, but I've never had any problems so you'll be safe. Once you're signed in you'll want to follow the numbered steps to make use of this Twitter tool. Keep in mind that if you're a new user or need an update that it could take some time before MrTweet will be able to show you any useful information.
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@Twitter_Tips:
If you only follow one Twitter-related account, this is the one. @Twitter_Tips tweets all kinds of great information about Twitter. Topics include things like hash tags, retweeting, recommendations on Twitter tools, apps for tweeting, and anything else relating to the Twitterverse. Do yourself a favor... go to @Twitter_Tips and follow them today.
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twitip.com:
As a blog on all things Twitter-related, TwiTip.com is a great resource outside of the Twitter.com domain itself. TwiTip not only has posts about using Twitter for yourself, but also has articles on using Twitter as a tool for businesses, reviews of Twitter apps, and more. It also has advanced Twitter topics like how to follow Twitter lists in an RSS reader and how to schedule your tweets.
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twitter.grader.com:
As far as basic statistics go, the Twitter Grader is one of the better tools you can use to rank yourself against other tweeps. Based on the Twitter Grader algorithm. With it's simple interface and narrow focus on a few pieces of information, it's a great place for beginners to start tracking their ranking.
Head over to http://twitter.grader.com/, enter your user name and click on "Grade". You'll see a grade between 0 and 100 in a box on the right-hand side. Anything less than a 90 usually indicates a new or not very active user.
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twittercounter.com:
With a nice graph showing a few different stats so you can see where the peaks and valleys are as well as the ability to compare yourself against 2 others at the same time, Twitter Counter is a great next-step up from basic stats. This tool has 3 different tabs: "Followers", "Following", and "Tweets". Clicking on each of these tabs will bring up a new graph that'll let you gauge how each of those stats is changing over time.
Point your browser to twittercounter.com and click on the "Add yourself" button. Like other Twitter tools it uses OAuth to connect. Once it does you can set up a profile so you can start looking at your stats whenever you like.
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twitalyzer.com:
In my opinion TwitAlyzer is one of the better advanced Twitter statistics websites out there today. With a clean interface using infographics, numeric indicators, and even up/down arrows to quickly see how your numbers are changing for the many data points they calculate for your profile, TwitAlyzer makes sorting through data a breeeze. To me, this Twitter tool is an indispensable resource for anyone who really wants to get into the nuts and bolts of tweaking your profile for peak performance. One thing to remember, however, is that if it's your first time using TwitAlyzer or if it's been a while since you've updated it could take a little time for them to gather all of the necessary information to show you your stats. Believe me... it's well worth the wait.
Using TwitAlyzer is a breeze. Go to twitalyzer.com, enter your user name, and click on the "Twitalyze!" button. You'll be able to see some basic data, but if you sign in using their OAuth connection you'll get 9 more reports to sift through.
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twittervalue.com:
Finishing out the list is one of those Twitter tools that's just for fun. It evaluates your account and puts a dollar value on it. Don't expect anyone to actually pay you this money for your account, but do have fun with it by checking out your value and then your friends, followers, and celebrities who are on Twitter.
That's it, 10 Twitter tools to help you manage your tweets and tweeps. These are just the tip of the iceberg, too, but they should help you find great followers, get rid of the inactive or non-participating ones, and get you up-and-running quickly and easily.
3 Secrets of the Twitterati.
The Urban Dictionary defines the Twitterati as:
Twitterati: The Tweet elite, whose feeds attract thousands of followers and whose 140-character spews capture the attention of the rapt who doggedly monitor them.Maybe it's not the most glowing definition going, but the point is clear: There are people out there whose tweets hold more interest (and probably influence) than others. I'm not just talking about celebrities or the otherwise famous -- it's obvious why those folks have so many followers -- and I’m also not talking about friend whores or spammers who just add people indiscriminately. I'm talking about the people with actual, real followers. Lots of them. The people I'm talking about are the ones who have a true connection with their followers and make a real impact on them.
It's called social media for a reason, isn't it?
Even though the members of the Twitterati are different people, the same things are being done, more or less, by all of the them. Everyone's voice is different, most have different areas of expertise or special knowledge, and they usually have a unique viewpoint. Still, you can find 3 common elements in all of their tweets if you take a step back and look at the big picture.
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Engage:
Possibly the most important of the 3 E’s, engaging with their followers is what sets the Twitterati apart, and really puts the social in "social networking". To build a list of Twitter followers isn't enough; anyone can get 20,000 followers if you only care about quantity and not quality. The power Twitter users get real people to follow them and learn who they are, find out their interests, talk directly with them, and find ways to get (and stay) connected with their followers as much as possible.
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Expose:
In order to have any appreciable effect on anyone, you have to let them in, even if just a little bit. Show them the real you. Being yourself, opening up, and exposing your strengths as well as your weaknesses helps build a bond between you and your followers. Exposing yourself to your Twitter followers builds trust. And without trust you're no better than a super-tweeting robot.
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Enlighten:
Last but certainly not least is what the most Twitterati do to keep their followers once they get them. The Twitter elite retain their followers by consistently tweeting relevant links, new tips and tricks, inside information on a particular topic, and any other reliable data their followers will find interesting through a tweet. This is the part where they teach a man to fish instead of giving him one.
Honestly, these aren't even secrets. They're common sense and common knowledge. Unfortunately we all seem to lose our way sometimes and forget these things. If you make a point to talk to people, be yourself, and teach them things, you'll build a strong base of friends and supporters.
